Method of and apparatus for precooling loaded cars



n 1948- I P. NALBANDIAN 2 METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRECOOLING LOADED CARS Filed March 19, L945 1 INVENTOR.

Pars/2 NflLBAWD/HN Patented nlune 8, 1948 IVIETHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRE- COOLING LOADED CARS Peter Nalbandian, Fresno, Califi, assignor to Improved Carloading Company, Fresno, Galif., a copartnership composed of Peter Nalbandian and D. D. Byrnes Application March 19, 1945, Serial No. 583,517

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of precooling perishable packaged goods such as vegetables, fruit, etc., after the same has been loaded into refrigerator cars for transit to the place of unloading.

Conventional refrigerator cars have air cooling compartments such as ice bunkers or the like at opposite ends of the car, which compartments communicate by means of upper and lower openings therein with the interior of the car at points adjacent the floor and roof. The load is generally supported by a perforated false floor spaced above the main floor for movement of air therethrough and to the lower opening, while the top opening in each compartment is generally suiiiciently high to be above the load. In normal circulation the cooled air moves from the lower openings in the end bunkers or compartments into the space below said false floor and toward the center of the car, it rises through the apertures in the floor for cooling the load and then moves back to the cooling compartments through the upper openings in the latter. Ordinarily such circulation is not forced.

In order to insure adequate refrigeration, particularly in relatively long trips, and to reduce or eliminate the necessity for re-icing cars en route, the load is precooled at the starting point to reduce the temperature to the Point where it may be maintained satisfactorily over a long distance of travel by filled ice bunkers.

It is customary to effect this precooling by fans positioned to direct air from the upper openings in the cooling compartments generally laterally over the load of packaged goods. This method reverses the normal circulation of air and is adopted for the reason that the top portion of the load is the most difiicult to cool. The lower packages in the load are in a naturally created cold air zone in the car that quickly forms due to natural convention but the top half of a normal load is not in such zone. This directing of the air laterally over the top of the load is' not particularly satisfactory irrespective of the manner in which the car is loaded and is particularly ineflicient where the load is in vertical, horizontally spaced stacks. as in the Hoak United States Patent Re. No. 22,256, of January 26, 1943, or in Chalmers United States Patent No. 1,820,729, of August 25, 1931. In these instances the air tends to merely move over the tops of the stacks without entering the vertical passageways between stacks.

The main object of this invention is to provide a cheap and eflective method for precooling packaged perishable goods in cars, and particularly such goods as are in packages that are in spaced stacks providing vertical passageways between stacks.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combination of elements for more efiiciently precooling packaged perishable goods in a car.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the description and drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a semi-diagrammatic view illustrating the method, and which view is taken longitudinally through a loaded car, the car walls being indicated in section.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged horizontal sectional view taken through one end portion of a car illustrating a preferred method of spacing the stacks apart to provide vertical passageways between them.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view through part of a car showing in elevation the tiers and stacks of packages and the spacers that may be employed.

Fig.4 is a semi-diagrammatic view illustrating a modification of the method shown in Fig. 1.

In detail, the method herein disclosed may include the initial step of loading a car I with lug boxes 2 or the like, that contain the perishable goods to be precooled. The said boxes are arranged in spaced vertical stacks that are generally designated 3.

One means that may be used in the loading of the car for spacing the stacks in the preferred .manner is posts 4 (Figs. 2, 3) that are respectively provided with cross-pieces 5 that are secured to one side of each post and that project oppositely laterally therefrom. The posts 4 are preferably positioned between the adjacent pairs of stacks in the rows thereof that extend across the width of the car, while the pieces 5 are preferably between the adjacent pairs of stacks in the rows thereof extending longitudinally of the car. Such cross-pieces may also space the end rows of the stacks from the end walls 6 of the car adjacent said end rows, while posts I may space the stacks of side rows from the sides 8 of the car. Pieces 9 projecting laterally from one side only of such posts 1 may space the adjacent pairs of stacks in the side rows from each other.

In a loaded car the stacks 3 in the car are ordinarily in two groups, one group being in one end of the car and the other group being in the opposite end. These two groups are spaced apart by spacing timbers H1 in the central space i I between said groups adjacent the car doors l2.

In Fig. 1 the spacers between the stacks 3 are not indicated in order to more clearly illustrate the method, it being understood that in the preferred form the spaces l3 (Fig. 3) between the cross members 5-provide horizontal-passagewaysrows that communicate with passslgevv'dye 01E spaces I3. The upper open ends of said passageways are indicated at M in Fig-2 2. The spaces between the adjacent rows:offistacksethat'extend longitudinally of the car providewerticalrpass'ageways l5 (Fig. 4).

The posts 4 preferably project above the top of the load (Fig. 3) for a reason to bedescribed, and which contributes to the result desired but is not absolutely essential to providing results improved over the heretofore practiced method. At "the: opposite ends:- ofthe ear are'the conventionatcooli-ng compartments. I-S thatmay contain ice, said compartments communicatin with theiinterior of the can'at their upper ends through-opening I l in eachi-end, and communicating with: the lowermost portion of the interior of thecar through-openings 18 in each end.

A fan I9 is in each-upper opening' lfl, the said fan being directed generally laterally, butslightly'downwar-dly and-beimgoperable for sucking cold-air from; compartment t6 and. blowing it into the-carand slightly downwardly.

These fans are not new, being heretofore employed for precooli-ngby blowing. the cold-air across the load-.- However, as already explained, this old method is-notec onomical. or satisfactory, particularly with the. load a'bove clescribe'd 'inasmuch as the cold air does not tend to goint'o passageways-H, l5.

- ;Tl 1e lug boxes carrying. fruit or the like} ordinarily have imperf'orate end-walls',fwhile the tops 20 are bowed upwardly between 's'aid'endwalls (Fig. 3-) thereby providing relatively free access of air to the fruit irrthebo'xes; or to" thethin curtain material sometimes usedbelow'suchtop for covering the .fruit. it. seen. that if the air streamsindicated. bythe'ai'rows 21"(Fig. 1) were in some-degree to be controlled so asto. pass downwardly into passageways (thus air would relatively quickly ca'us'e cooling of the contents of the boxes as. itv would comeih-ifairly' intimate heat 'exchang relation to said' contents and would also circulate laterally throughspaces [3.

By placing' 'fans" 22 adjacent. the cariroo'f and below it and? in positions to intercept or deflect air streams 2t downwardly through} thedownward =blast's 23: of air'f-rom'said: tans -22, an appreciableamount of the-air .instreams 2-1 is' foreibly deflected into the-passageways I'4.--=--Inasmuclr as fans 22 merely circulate car"air there is "no" im etion of outside air-*i'ntothe car; and the "influence o-f'saidf fans is-sufiicient' to-efl'ectively cause a precooling of-"the'cbntents ofth'e=stacks Way-bletw eenth space Hand eacheno B of the confine from the cooling co'mpartment info the been usedfratherfjtlian"relyingbn the f anis' I 9,

and this method is illustrated diagrammatically tratedi i'r iTEig. I isithat the movement of the air 4 in Fig. 4, which figure also shows my improved method.

The car I is loaded in the same manner as the car of Fig. 1. However, the cold air from the. ice. compartments is drawn from the lower openings in said compartments toward the door where a circulating fan 25 blows the air over the top boxes in the load to the upper opening 26 in each end of the car. The fans 22 above oi thelloadj blow off this air downwardly into pass'algeiivays'- l3, M between stacks.

The principal diiference between this method and that illustor and fromthe: ends of the car is reversed in direction.

The apparatus used in Fig. 4 may be centrally of thear'withthefan or blower 25 outside the car and communicating with the interior of the car through closure conduit that closes the car door against admission of atmospheric air into the'car." A'partition 3'! may be used. for drawing 'the"lower strata of air in the carfrom 'theloweropeningsin the ends to the fan for ejection above the "partition back into the upper half of the car for movement. to each upper openingzfi'.

The projection oi posts 5 above the" load assists in 't'he circulation of air by deflecting some'of the {'air' "striking said upper ends. into passagewaysilfi. This air helps lower the temperature, although it is manifest thatthe air deflected into passageways" M'causes the major portion of the resultindepen-dentlyof the passageways l5.

4 The drawings and 'descripiton are merely illustrative ofthepreferredform of the'invention and are not to be considered restrictive thereof.

' I fclaim'r l. The method-of precooling packaged perishable good s'in a car that comprises the steps of 40 g the packages of such goods in spaced stacks providing "vertical passageways between stacks, thenmoving a streamof cold airlaterally over the upper ends of said stacks and intercepting such stream by a downward blast of air 'fi'om"-above said stream and. passageways for causing 'cold air from said stream to move downwardly into said-passageways.

2. The method of precooling packaged perishablefgo ods in a car that comprises the steps of arranging thepackages of such goods in spaced stacks providing vertical passageways between stacks, closing said car, circulating a stream of air in'the closed car over a cooling medium and then'over the tops of said stacks and back to said "medium, intercepting said stream by a downward blast ofcar air from. a point above the upper ends of said passageways for movement of said blast andair'from said stream into said passageways, causing said air so moved into said passag'ew'ays to move over said cooling medium for cooling and for re-entering said stream.

3. The method of precooling' packaged perishable goods. in a car. that comprises the steps of arranging thepackages of such goods in a pair or spaced groups of spaced stacks with-one of said -groups in each end of the car-and with'the stacks in each group'so arranged as to'provide vertical passageways between them," closingsaid "car; circulating separate streams of' air in the 'blosed car overcoming medium at opposite" ends of said car" and then in direction over the upper ends of said passageways toward the space betwjveeri said groups and then back tosai'd cooling "medium; causing downward blasts of car air from above said open ends of said passageways of said groups to defiect cold air from said separate streams into said passageways for passage downwardly therethrough and moving the air from said blasts with the air so deflected back to said cooling medium for recooling.

4. In combination with a refrigerator car provided with air cooling compartments at its opposite ends each provided with an upper and a lower opening communicating with the interior of the car at points adjacent the roof and floor, an air circulating fan in each upper opening arranged for directing cold air from said compartments laterally over the top of a load in said car, a load in said car comprising vertical spaced stacks of packaged goods providing vertical passageways between said stacks, air moving means adjacent the roof of said car and within the latter for moving air so directed from said fans downwardly into said passageways.

5. In combination with a refrigerator car provided with air cooling compartments at its opposite ends each provided with an upper and a lower opening communicating with the interior of the car at points adjacent the roof and floor, an air circulating fan in each upper opening arranged for directing cold air from said compartments laterally over the top of a load in said car. a load in said car comprising vertical spaced stacks of packaged goods providing vertical pas sageways between said stacks, air moving means adjacent the roof of said car and within the latter for moving air so directed from said fans downwardly into said passageways, said air moving means comprising downwardly directed fans disposed over the said stacks and over said passageways.

6. In combination with a refrigerator car,

means for cooling the air in said car, means for circulating the air so cooled generally horizontally in the upper half of one end of said car in one direction and generally horizontally in the opposite direction in the lower half, means for deflecting the air so moved in said upper half downwardl into the air in said lower half for moving such air into a load adapted to be positioned in said lower half, said last mentioned means comprising downwardly directed air fans within said car, and the said means for cooling said air being positioned for engaging said air immediately prior to movement thereof in said upper half.

'7. In combination with a refrigerator car, means at opposite ends of said car for cooling the air in the latter, means for circulating the air in said car generally horizontally in the upper half of said car from said means toward the center of said car and from said center downwardly and back to said means for recooling, downwardly directed fans within said car adjacent the roof and between said ends and the center of said car for deflecting downwardly air so moved in said upper half whereby a load on the floor of such car and in said lower half will be cooled by the air so deflected.

PETER NALBANDIAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 303,793 Baumgardner Aug. 19, 1884 2,019,796 Phillips Nov. 5, 1935 2,398,273 Albers Apr. 9, 1946 

